Each year 500,000 patients undergo cardiac surgery in the United States, and acute kidney injury (AKI) complicates recovery in 25% of patients. AKI is associated with subsequent postoperative arrhythmias, wound infections, and sepsis, and independently predicts a 5-fold increase in death at 30 days. The principal investigator has demonstrated that intraoperative concentrations of F2-isoprostanes, products of reactive oxygen species (ROS)-induced arachidonic acid peroxidation, independently predict AKI following cardiac surgery, suggesting that treatments that target excess ROS production during surgery may reduce AKI. Hyper-oxygenation - the administration of oxygen in excess of that required to saturate hemoglobin - is prevalent during cardiac surgery despite frequent renal ischemia. In vitro and following experimental ischemia hyper-oxygenation increases ROS production. Our preliminary studies indicate that hyper-oxygenation increases ROS production in blood ex vivo and maintaining physiologic oxygenation during cardiac surgery by restricting oxygen administration to that required to saturate hemoglobin is feasible and safe and associated with decreased F2-isoprostanes and AKI compared to hyper-oxygenation. These findings are consistent with recent clinical studies in cardiac arrest patients demonstrating that hyper-oxygenation after resuscitation increases cognitive dysfunction, coma, and death. This project challenges the prevailing culture that the administration of excess oxygen during surgery is beneficial. The research team comprised of experts in cardiac surgery clinical trials, oxidative stress, and AKI, will test the hypothesis that physiologic oxygenation during cardiac surgery decreases postoperative kidney injury (Aim 1), ROS production, and oxidative stress (Aim 2) compared to hyper-oxygenation. The team will complete a phase II clinical trial in which they will recruit and randomize 200 cardiac surgery subjects to receive hyper-oxygenation (fraction of inspired oxygen (FIO2) = 0.8-1.0) or physiologic oxygenation (minimum FIO2 required to achieve a Hb O2 saturation of 95-98% and an arterial pO2 between 80-95 mmHg) during surgery and compare kidney function and injury between treatment groups, ROS production using electron paramagnetic resonance, and systemic oxidative stress by measuring F2-isoprostanes and isofurans in plasma. Safety endpoints will be clinical outcomes associated with hypoxia. Secondary endpoints will be other clinical outcomes associated with excess oxygen administration in preliminary and published studies. By comparing oxidative stress measurements to kidney injury the team will also test the hypothesis that oxidative stress is the mechanism by which anesthesia and surgery induce AKI. Results of these studies have the potential to fundamentally alter the intraoperative management of cardiac surgery patients and enhance the understanding of mechanisms of surgery-induced AKI.